


Kailana Aquiline

by Lyonish (Zebeyithra)



Category: Dungeons & Dragons (Roleplaying Game), Dungeons & Dragons - All Media Types
Genre: Action/Adventure, Dungeons & Dragons 5th Edition, Multi, Origin Story
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-01-27
Updated: 2017-01-27
Packaged: 2018-09-20 06:24:37
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,237
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9479312
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Zebeyithra/pseuds/Lyonish
Summary: The story of Kailana Aquiline--Water Genasi Warlock/Sorcerer. Told in several vignettes, this covers Kailana's life and adventures.





	1. First

**Author's Note:**

> Kailana of the Aquiline Waters, born of the Crystal Thread
> 
> tw blood

She’s merely eight years old the first time she meets someone not from her tribe and it is unforgettable. He comes tumbling out of the forest, scrambling and gasping for air as if he’s drowning. She and her cousins jump up from the stream, shrieking in fear while the bloodied man tumbles into the water. His mouth is gaping wide like a fish out of water while his side turns the stream red. Her cousins cower behind her as she creeps towards the human.  
To him, she looks like a small nymph. Her skin has a strange blue hue to it he’s only seen on frozen people, but she is most definitely not frozen. The cascade of nearly-black-blue hair is held up and together with pins decorated with small shells. The pain in his side flares, making him scream wordlessly over the frightened shrieks of the other children. The girl simply watches, tilting her head curiously to the side, her too-blue eyes piercing into him. She creeps forward a few more steps as the children whimper worriedly, her gaze fixated on the wound in his side. It’s gouged, raked by something strong enough to rip through metal and flesh.  


“H… hel… help…” He breathes, the effort taking far too much strength out of him to the point of blacking out. A moment later, the pain brings him back, shrieking as something far too hot pours along his side.  


“Vel, go get your dad and the others. Sas, keep boiling water,” he hears a light voice, strong and young. Letting his head roll to the side, he can see the nymphling marshaling the children. One is holding a waterskin in her hands, concentrating on the leather as it shakes, steam rising from the mouth. The girl bends down to the youngest, maybe 3 years old. “Gath, get Grandmother. She’ll know what to do.” The children nod, running to the river. For a moment, he thinks they’ll sink beneath the water, drowning like the blood in his lungs. He’s aware only a beat longer, just enough to see the water rise to meet their feet, carrying them downstream...  


The girl watches as the elders arrive, all worry and furrowed brows. They’ve always been taught to take care of every creature to stumble out of the thick woods. But now, as she watches her father survey the area with hunched shoulders, she feels his worry ebb into her.  


“Father?” He turns, his face brightening for a moment at the sight of his daughter. She watches as the worry returns, his eyes sliding down to her hands. She looks. Water and blood mix, painting her hands and forearms in azure and crimson streaks. Her attention is fixated as a thick drop rolls down the inside of her arm, pooling in the crook of her elbow.  


“Kailana. Take your cousins home,” her father says, “We will take care of this.” She is unmoved.  


“Father, will he be alright? Who is he?” One of her uncles grumbles something as the wizened Grandmother rounds the bend, the waters carrying her more gently than a leaf on the wind. Under her guidance, they carry the man to the waters, to their village, while Kailana stares at the blood dripping down her hands.


	2. Next

She is sixteen when she sees new people again. Years have passed since the first one was healed, taken back to the forest. His eyes were too hungry for her to feel safe enough to ask him about himself. Her father and brother had simply stopped talking about the human once he was gone. Only Grandmother would speak to her and only when they were far away from the others. 

Kailana is learning a spell, cleansing the waters flowing from up river. The tingle of magic along her hands is warm and familiar, making the tattoos along her arms glow cerulean. Behind her, Grandmother nods happily, the wrinkles on her face deepening. 

“Well done. Now, like this,” she says, turning her hands upward. Her own magic, weakened in her age, sparkles like fireflies at night through the water. Each sparkle attaches to something, becoming darker as the poison is drawn out before flittering out. Kailana nods, focusing on turning the magic to her will. After a moment, the tendrils lick out, snatching the toxins on vines of energy and flicking them away. 

“Grandmother, it’s getting worse,” Kailana sighs, letting the spell loose as she sits on the ground. “There must be something up the Thread doing this.” Grandmother nods again, a weight on her shoulders that Kailana recognizes too well. “You know what it is?” Grandmother sighs, sitting on a flat rock by the water, her back hunched in age. Everyone in the village calls her Grandmother, but it is now that Kailana wonders just how old she is, how much she’s seen. 

“The humans have set up a camp in the mountains. They are building, using the Crystal Thread to power their machines. Kailana, dear,” Grandmother motions to her bag, a large deerskin Kailana herself had made for her several years before. She reaches down, picking up the heavily laden bag and opening the flap. Grandmother squints, rummaging for a moment before slowly retrieving a tube. It is wooden, engraved in markings along its edges and sealed with wax. Kailana stares at it while Grandmother turns it over in her hands, her fingers following the designs with ease. Putting the bag down, Kailana kneels, sitting on her knees as Grandmother begins to speak again. 

“Dearest, you know what it is we of the Aquiline protect here in the mountains. Those from the outside would call our home the Nulukkhund Spires, and it is here we live and die. I have lived here my whole life, following the tribe from its source to where it meets the sea.” At this, Grandmother looks to the mountain peaks, her brows furrowing as the wind lifts her bright silver hair. “And I have seen a great many things. Now, not all beings outside of our home are evil, but they would find us a strange people. We must protect that which gives us life. When you are old enough, I will take you there.” 

“When is that, Grandmother?” Kailana asks, leaning forward eagerly. Grandmother chuckles, patting Kailana’s head, her hand resting on her cheek. 

“In time. For now, we must worry about those in the Spires, the humans and their ilk. Kailana…” Grandmother trails off, her eyes looking across the river. Standing quickly, Kailana stands, stepping in front of Grandmother protectively. 

Across the great expanse of water, a man stands in front of a large gathering of people, directing them. They have a great many creatures and strange machines, placing them across the shore. Kailana can hear the man shouting orders before his own attention is pulled to her. Behind her, Grandmother stands. 

“Kailana, we must go.” Kailana continues to stare at the man. He has gone silent, his whole body turning towards the river and his companions watching as he slowly raises his hands, waving at them. 

“Grandmother, what if they’re lost or something?” A hand grips Kailana’s forearm, startling her. Grandmother has shuffled to her side, a fear making her hands shake. 

“They are not lost. Quickly now.” They disappear in a spray of water, leaving the man in wonder. Something grips Kailana’s gut in fear, and she knows the man, his hungry eyes.


End file.
